Anonymous posting is only appropriate when you are revealing sensitive employment related information about a firm, job, etc. You may anonymously respond on topic to these threads. Unacceptable uses include: harassing another user, joking around, testing the feature, or other things that are more appropriate in the lounge.

Anonymous User wrote:When exactly did $160K become A LOT of money?? Granted, you probably can say that you are not one of the great unwashed and you may not feel the need to go stick up the local 7-11, but no, it is not A LOT of money.

Lol, of the dozens and dozens of people I know (family, friends, family friends, etc.), I can think of just one that makes above 160K, and she is a doctor. When did 160K become a lot of money? When was it ever NOT a lot of money? Not sure where you grew up, but it definitely wasn't in my area.

I agree. This person has a 99%er background for sure. For most people coming from middle class America, 160k a year is a big deal. It's not millionaire rich, but that comment obviously shows that whoever posted it is out of touch with reality. You're not gonna be buying a private jet anytime soon, but you're not going to have to worry about money in the way a majority of people in this country, let alone on the planet, do. If you don't understand how fortunate you are to have that money because it's not "a lot" than I feel bad for you.

FWIW, my parents both had very respectable careers. My mom has been a teacher for 30+ years, which isn't high paying, but is certainly respectable. My dad was a public official in our state from his early 20s on and worked in local government after, has accomplished a huge amount in our area, and if I hadn't reneged on my firm offer this summer I would've made more in my first or second year at my firm (depending on bonuses) than my parents ever did combined (170k). That said, I still probably would never accomplish as much as my dad.

160k is certainly a lot of money. But money does not = standardbearer for the family.

When it comes to $160k, it’s 99% good, but yeah, perhaps not 1% great. This is TLS, home of Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Penn, NYU, Cornell, etc. where a summer break often includes jaunts to Rio, not Disneyland. Many of you have noticed that, right? The person sitting next to you is wearing Cartier every day. Round and round it goes.

Dale wrote:When it comes to $160k, it’s 99% good, but yeah, perhaps not 1% great. This is TLS, home of Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Penn, NYU, Cornell, etc. where a summer break often includes jaunts to Rio, not Disneyland. Many of you have noticed that, right? The person sitting next to you is wearing Cartier every day. Round and round it goes.

lolwut... When did being able to get into a tls like HYSCCN mean that you can afford summer jaunts to Rio and wear Cartier???

Worse things than being proud of your parents, BROntosaurus. Don't really feel like money should determine "family icon" status, either. I'll almost certainly make more than them but probably won't accomplish as much.

Dale wrote:When it comes to $160k, it’s 99% good, but yeah, perhaps not 1% great. This is TLS, home of Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Penn, NYU, Cornell, etc. where a summer break often includes jaunts to Rio, not Disneyland. Many of you have noticed that, right? The person sitting next to you is wearing Cartier every day. Round and round it goes.

lolwut... When did being able to get into a tls like HYSCCN mean that you can afford summer jaunts to Rio and wear Cartier???

Think the implication was that rich lawyers breed future rich lawyers, which breed future rich lawyers. I certainly know a lot of people that have long family histories of successful lawyers and fit that description. Definitely not growing on trees, though. But they're definitely around.

Kronk wrote:Think the implication was that rich lawyers breed future rich lawyers, which breed future rich lawyers. I certainly know a lot of people that have long family histories of successful lawyers and fit that description. Definitely not growing on trees, though. But they're definitely around.

Exactly.

Doing good = parents are Delighted. The idea that parents would be jealous is absurd.

Dale wrote:When it comes to $160k, it’s 99% good, but yeah, perhaps not 1% great. This is TLS, home of Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Penn, NYU, Cornell, etc. where a summer break often includes jaunts to Rio, not Disneyland. Many of you have noticed that, right? The person sitting next to you is wearing Cartier every day. Round and round it goes.

lolwut... When did being able to get into a tls like HYSCCN mean that you can afford summer jaunts to Rio and wear Cartier???

Think the implication was that rich lawyers breed future rich lawyers, which breed future rich lawyers. I certainly know a lot of people that have long family histories of successful lawyers and fit that description. Definitely not growing on trees, though. But they're definitely around.

Well yeah there are clearly some classmates walking around whose parents are parents are managing partners with 4 million+ salaries... Even with a few law students like that doesn't mean that a 25 year old making 160k is not a TON of money by almost any reasonable metric or comparison.

Anonymous User wrote: Its not like, since I'll be making much more $$ now, that I am going to force my friends to come to fancier restaurants and bars than we used to go to.

yea ull still be going to applebees but now theyll just expect you to pay the tab. like maybe they'll be short on cash one (or a few times) and you'll spot them. they wont feel a huge need to pay you back. this has been my experience with a few friends. just saying. and none of them know EXACTLY how much i make, they just assume im a boss corporate lawyer (which i am )

This is about you having shitty friends/friendships, not about your job. The last sentence explains the cause, at least.

I haven't read most of this thread since it keeps diverging from its point but I can say my dad seemed weirded out by my salary and now presumes all things are going to be perfect for me. I didn't tell him my salary but told him my firm and he looked up the firm which prominently states how much associates are paid. Well it's somewhat hidden but if you look under recruiting you can find it.

I wouldn't call it jealousy but it certainly was an awkward few minutes afterwards: him thinking I won the lottery and me thinking I'll hopefully survive. I didn't have the heart to tell him 160k in NY is worth about 80k in middle of nowhere.

Not really sure why I am anonymous except to avoid the eyes of my parents (which seems kind of funny after posting).

EDIT: I did not mean to imply that my parents asked me how much my salary is. They never mentioned it to me but brought up that they saw it. If they had asked I would have answered. Also, I am a non-traditional student and have not lived with them for over a decade so their asking would be somewhat weird.

Last edited by Anonymous User on Mon May 07, 2012 6:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Desert Fox wrote:My mom thinks 160K a year means I'll be a baller with cash to blow. Trying to explain how 250K in debt means that isn't true, but she doesn't get it.

I get this problem with my friends more than my parents. No matter how I try to explain that, after I make my student loan payments, I am making less than them at non-law jobs, they expect me to buy a boat and fund drinking activities.

What about those of us living in NYC? My friends already make a lot more money than me because they are in finance, and will continue to make more once I graduate. It's annoying to be on this end too, constantly pitied for being poor. One of my finance friends offered to loan the entire cost of law school tuition to another law school friend at 4% interest, since that is lower than the grad plus rate. He was not joking.

i dont understand how people don't tell how much they make to their parents. my parents would give me the weirdest look if i refused to tell them. its like, do you really think we the people who raised you and sacrificed everything for you will be jealous of your success?? sounds almost insulting not to tell them, like you think they're too immature to handle it

my parents are blatantly passive aggressive with respect to my firm job. They make around 40k-50kish combined income and have been that way for as long as I can remember, and have to my knowledge never once told me they were proud of me for my accomplishments. I wonder if they are like the poster earlier who preferred that I just stay near home and have some dinky job

Nova wrote:In the OP, the poster claims his parents are probably middle class. Then, he says his father makes ~160k. LOL.

The top 10%. You know, solidly middle class.

Definitely upper middle class for a family of four in most parts of the country, but areas with especially high/low COL would err on the more mildly affluent/comfortably middle class side. For a single person as a starting salary, even in NYC that's pretty damn high.

My parents are not impressed with my professional success and are horrifically embarrassed about my personal life. They're also mad that I don't want an urban farm in Oregon and to name my children things like Sky or Pilar.

DoubleChecks wrote:Sorry, I'm asian with immigrant parents...I swear there is an appropriate meme for this that I am just too lazy to find this morning lol.

the thing with asian parents is that they're greedy and will only be happy with their children's success if the success can be attributed back to the parents. otherwise, they tend to resent their children.

Racism.. You are so wrong. Its all depend on the individuals. I think you parent raise you the wrong way

IAFG wrote:My parents are not impressed with my professional success and are horrifically embarrassed about my personal life. They're also mad that I don't want an urban farm in Oregon and to name my children things like Sky or Pilar.

Haha whats wrong with the names Sky or Pilar? They sound awesome... I think I'll name my kid Sky-Pilar

Kronk wrote:Honest question, is there anyone in this thread, student loans aside, that would RATHER make 160k-250k than work 70 hour, inconsistent weeks and put in work time on vacation than work 40 hour weeks, never work on weekends or vacation, and make 60k-100k?

Genuinely curious. Probably depends a bit on if you're living with ridiculous COL like in NYC or SF as opposed to near anywhere else. But I'm actually curious.

No wonder you lot are miserable on this site. I think this type of question separates those who succeed in law school from those who don't.

Did most people really choose this profession largely to make money? I just don't get it. I had concrete plans for wanting to become a lawyer and its what goals I want to accomplish that will determine whether I want the 160k job working 70 hrs vs. the 60k job working 40 hours. To me salary isn't as important as the quality of the work and what it entails for my future goals. In most cases if you are working 70 hrs a week then those are more likely to be important jobs than working just 40 hours a week in leisure.

Those who succeed in law school such as myself were probably always internally motivated to succeed and didn't look at a life of leisure as the end goal. People who succeed are motivated by greatness and being exceptional, not by eventually getting some low stress high paying job that they can slack off on the rest of their lives. No one who goes to a top law school and finishes top of their class is fazed by more hard work to continue to succeed at the top of the legal profession.

You guys need to wake up and realize that your in the wrong profession if you are whining about the workload for making 160k.